Subdued Illumination
by Money Stax
Summary: In the Unity program, special trainers are given important missions. They are classified as Heaven trainers, Earth trainers, or Abyss trainers and are teamed with two members of the other two classifications. A series of different but connected criminal activities among rogue Unity members increase as a new generation of Unity trainers emerge. And what exactly is the group Neon?
1. The Square

**The Square**

- _Unity Square_

Bryant Macallister sighed in relief as he read the sign from the window. He had finally arrived after spending hours on a mostly empty bus. Sandslash had drifted off to sleep during the travel and while Bryant could hardly blame the ground Pokémon, he knew that there was no time for rest.

"Sandslash," he called out to his sleeping companion. "Come on, you can sleep later. We need to meet up with Alex and Ed before we get assigned to a team."

"_Saaaaaa_..."

Sandslash stretched and let out a loud yawn before slowly opening his eyes. Bryant grabbed his green army jacket from the back of the seat and threw it on in a hurry not to waste any more time. He retrieved his wallet and made sure he had enough money to tip the bus driver.

"Thanks for the ride, Jim," Bryant told the old man.

"No problem, Beck," Jim replied with a smile.

Bryant let out a sigh and his amber eyes narrowed. "Beck's my brother..."

"Sorry, Dale...er Trent...?" Jim said as he named Bryant's older brothers. "Priscilla?"

The mentioning of his older sister's name made Bryant realize that he was fighting a losing battle. He wondered if Jim was truly losing his sight, his mind, or if he was just messing around with him. Sandslash, on the other hand, seemed to be getting a kick out of watching his trainer's growing frustration with the old bus driver. It was certainly not anything that he was unused to. Bryant was the youngest person in an extremely large family and was always being mistaken for someone else, especially his brothers – or his brothers _and_ sisters in this particular case.

"I need to get famous fast..." he said with another sigh before finally exiting the bus with Sandslash on his heels.

"Alright then, Lori," Jim called after him. "Be a good girl!"

Bryant's irritation quickly evaporated when he was greeted with the familiar sight of Unity Square. Though it was not located in one of the great regions, Unity Square was a large subdivision complete with small residential and commercial areas. However, access to the square was purely restricted to special trainers in or affiliated with the Unity program. Bryant's family had been connected to the program since its founding over a hundred years ago and he was the latest in a long line of Macallisters that had completed the seven years of initial training. He was more than ready for any assignments that they had for him.

"We're almost to _Will-O-Burger_," Bryant said as he and Sandslash walked down the sidewalk. "How are you holding up?"

"_Slaaaa!"_

Sandslash curled into a ball and rolled forward. Even as a Sandshrew he had always been a showoff and it was obvious that he wanted to race his trainer to the restaurant. Bryant decided to humor the ground Pokémon and ran after him. He knew he wouldn't be much of a match for Sandslash, but it was always good to get in a little exercise whenever possible.

"Looks like you beat me..." Bryant panted when they arrived at the restaurant. "Come on, let's go in..."

_W__ill-O-Burger_ was one of three restaurants in the subdivision and easily the least fancy and most affordable of them. The place was packed on weekends, but on mission days, it was usually semi-deserted. Unlike those who were still training in the program, the graduates worked year round and were often away on important assignments when the trainees returned from summer vacation.

"_Bryant, over here!"_

The voice came from the last booth on the left. Bryant and Sandslash quickly made their way to greet their friends.

It was Alex's voice he heard, but it was Ed that he saw first, hungrily chowing down on his order. Edward "Big Ed" Gaffer had always been massive, even before his growth spurt during their fourth year of training. He was as strong as he was tall with short dull brown hair and dark eyes.

Alex Brandt was sitting across from him, throwing her football in the air and catching it. Her hair was light brown, cut very short with side swept bangs and her eyes were hazel, more green than brown. If one didn't know any better, they'd say that she looked like a very pretty boy.

They were both two of Bryant's oldest friends, particularly Alex since his sister, Nicolette, and her brother, Jeremy, had always been close. The three of them had been classified as Earth trainers when they started the program and had spent years training together, but that would no longer be the case.

"You're just in time," Ed said with a mouth full of fries as Bryant took a seat beside Alex. "We were talking about who we wanted to be our partners when we get put onto squads in a bit."

"Who were you thinking?" Bryant asked curiously.

"Dunno..." Ed replied. "Blake Memoria would make a good Heaven teammate. Maybe Dillon Parry? Don't really know that much about the guy."

"Glenn Morrow wouldn't be too bad," Alex added. "But that little cutie, Lydia Brown, would be so nice to look at though..."

Bryant let out a laugh. "All those are Heaven trainers. Who do you guys want as your Abyss partner?"

"Honestly, I'd rather have another Heaven or Earth partner," Ed stated. "It's better than having a backstabbing Abyss on your team. The saying goes that a fifth of Abyss members go rogue. And this year there are going to be five new squads, which means that there's going to be five Abyss trainers, which means that one of them is gonna turn traitor."

Ed was always a bit paranoid when it came to the Abyss trainers, but Bryant had to admit that he had a point. When a trainer first entered the program, they were placed in one of three classifications that depended on their individual skills and attributes. Heaven trainers were said to be good at boosting morale, Earth trainers were good at bringing stability to the squad, and Abyss trainers were good at getting things done in any way possible. Although you could technically quit the Unity program at any time, the Abyss trainers who left tended to become criminals, the most recently famous being Vance Fitz, who Bryant knew all too well.

"That's a dumb superstition, Ed," Alex told him. "Just because a few went bad doesn't mean you should just make assumptions. It's not like they choose to be Abyss trainers. That's the class they're put in when they get here. Anyway, Bryant, who do you want on your team?"

"I don't care," Bryant answered simply. "As long as they help me get famous, that's all that matters."

"Is that legit the only thing you care about?" Alex asked. "I could have sworn that Unity was more about helping others than gaining glory."

"Dude," Bryant started. "Fifteen minutes ago, the bus driver mistook me for my brothers and sisters. That's completely unacceptable."

Alex shrugged her shoulders. "You guys do all resemble each other and Old Man Jimmy's sight really isn't what it used to be."

"I don't mean sound like a jerk," Bryant said. "It's just that I want to be _Bryant_ Macallister and not Bryant _Macallister_. Get what I mean?"

"Totally," Alex replied with a grin. "Now, are you going to pay for our lunch like you said or what?"

"Yeah, yeah," Bryant told her. "Get whatever else you want. Everything's on me, but it's only because it might be the last time we're together like this for a while. That doesn't mean pig out, Ed. I'm on a budget."

"Whatever," Ed said. "All I heard is that you're paying. Bring on the burgers!"

If anything, Bryant knew that it would be better to start eating healthy once more so that he would be in top shape for any important missions. However, he was quite aware that beginners did not typically have any assignments that required much physical labor. It was mostly doing charity work in one of the great regions, so a burger or two would not hurt. After he and his friends had finished eating, Alex and Ed cleared out while Bryant went to pay.

"We better hurry up," Bryant told Sandslash as they exited the restaurant. "Coach will give us an earful if we're late-"

"_Saaaa_!"

Bryant did not catch his partner's warning in time to avoid tripping over the foot that had been placed in front of him. He fell face first onto the pavement and slid a few inches forward. Before he could react, Bryant was yanked to his feet and shoved against a nearby truck. Staring his attacker in the face, Bryant identified the young man as Austin LaRouke, an older Abyss trainer who had completed training a year earlier and been assigned to Squad Hydra. He was solidly built and slightly intimidating with fair skin and straight dark hair that fell down his face. His dark gray eyes were visible between his bangs as was his vexing smirk.

"Unless you're taking me to a movie later on, I suggest you not be so rough," Bryant remarked sarcastically.

"If there's one thing that this organization does not need is another Macallister hogging all the spotlight," LaRouke shot back. "Especially not a joke like you."

"This 'joke' here is going to become famous," Bryant countered. "And I'm going to do it without my family's help. Trust me when I say this. My squad is going to be the greatest team to ever come out of this place."

"Jumping the gun a bit early, aren't we?" LaRouke taunted. "You don't even know who is on your squad yet. For your sake, let's hope you don't get anyone too crappy. Judging by the kids this year...you're definitely going to be in for a rough time."

"Yeah, whatever," Bryant said. "Can you let me go now? If you want to battle, that's fine, but you're ruining my jacket."

LaRouke glanced over at Sandslash, who seemed ready for a fight as he rubbed his claws together. The Abyss trainer released Bryant from his grip and the younger boy straightened out his clothes, visibly irritated by the whole confrontation. Sandslash stepped in front of his trainer and LaRouke reached for a poké ball.

"You know what..." he started as he looked at the poké ball in his hand and then at Bryant. His grin grew even wider. "I just got back from a mission and I'm meeting my team here to celebrate a job well done. I'm not going to waste time on the likes of you."

Without any further words, Austin LaRouke headed inside of the restaurant. If Bryant's future Abyss teammate was anything like LaRouke, there was most certainly going to be a problem. He thought about what Ed had said earlier, but quickly dismissed it. There was a huge difference between becoming a criminal and just being a jerk and despite everything, LaRouke only belonged in the latter category. He checked the time on his phone and decided not to loiter around anymore. Alex and Ed were likely already at the headquarters and it would not be fair to hold them and everyone else up.

"I need an an energy drink..." Bryant said with a sigh.

* * *

**A/N: And the first chapter is complete. This is an idea I had for a while, so I was excited to finally get it under the way. The first chapter was pretty short, but the next ones will definitely be a lot longer as we add more P.O.V.s and learn more about the Unity program as a whole. Stay with me because the ride has just begun!**

**Until next time! **


	2. Squad Crux

**Squad Crux**

Unity HQ was the largest and most impressive building in the subdivision. It was located at the very back of the area and towered over everything in front of it. The Unity Commander's office was on the seventh floor while the rest of the building dealt with the day-to-day operations that the program required. The new unit was meeting on the third floor and consisted of the fifteen trainers that had completed the required seven years of preparation. When Bryant, Alex, and Ed had arrived there were only a few people there, so they decided to kill the time by throwing Alex's football around.

"Alex, go long!" Ed shouted.

He threw the ball across the room and she easily caught it. For a moment, Bryant wondered if they were disturbing the other trainers who were already there and the ones who were arriving. The room was spacious enough to where all three groups had their own sections. The Heaven trainers were all seated to the far right while the Abyss trainers were slouched against the far left area of the room. That gave the Earth trainers the entire middle section.

"Alright, Bry!" Alex yelled. "Catch!"

She threw the ball and Bryant staggered back in an attempt to catch it. However, he stopped when he hit his back against what felt like a brick wall. He whirled around to see a large and muscular man in sunglasses. His head was shaved which only highlighted his bushy reddish-brown eyebrows even more. The man held up the football as he looked down at the teenager who had just bumped into him.

"Coach V!" Bryant started. "I-"

"I don't want to hear it Macallister," the coach interrupted. "Just give me an apology and ten pushups."

"Fine," Bryant sighed. "I'm sorry I bumped into you."

Coach V arched an eyebrow. "I don't care about you bumping into me. I'm angry at the fact that you missed that perfectly good pass. You know I taught you better than that!" He glanced over at Alex. "Excellent throw, Brandt!"

"Thanks, Coach!" Alex shouted back before grinning at Bryant.

"_Saaaa! Saaaaan!"_

"It's not funny, Sandslash..." Bryant grumbled as he went down to the floor to do his pushups. Sandslash did not cease laughter until his trainer had finished and made his way over to Alex and Ed.

"Alright!" Coach V called out as he retrieved some papers out of his gym bag. "Everyone, take your seats. I'm going to go over some stuff with you and then you'll be assigned to your squads."

This was the moment that everyone had been waiting for. Bryant could see that Ed had started breathing heavily and there was no doubt how nervous he was. Alex tried to comfort him, but it did not seem to be helping much. Bryant turned his attention to the other two Earth trainers. Laura Greenland was a mutual friend of Bryant, Alex, and Ed and seemed to be completely calm. The other trainer was Nea Parry and the only thing that Bryant really knew about her was that her brother, Dillon, was a new Heaven trainer. He wondered if they would end up on the same team.

"As you know," the coach continued. "The Unity program is about helping those in need. It is also about learning how to work with others. In your initial training, you learned how to work with people similar to you. Now, you'll learn how to work with those who are different than you are. You'll live with them, bond with them, and go on missions with them. Speaking of missions, the more you go on, the more rewards you'll get. Every time that you successfully complete a mission, you will earn credits. How many credits you receive depend on the type of mission and how well you completed it. Get enough credits and you are eligible to move up from Fire rank to Ice rank and then eventually to Lightning rank like yours truly. I know most of you already know all this, but I'm required to go over it. Anyway, let's get this show on the road..."

He went over to the computer and scanned the paper that was in his hand. Bryant watched in anticipation as the names began to appear on the screen. Once the computer was finished scanning, everyone turned their attention to the names that had come up.

_Squad Corvus: Dillon Parry – Ed Gaffer – Ryder Flynn_

_Squad Crux: Lydia Brown – Bryant Macallister – Darena Fordos_

_Squad Lynx: Glenn Morrow – Alex Brandt – Jude Lancaster_

_Squad Octans: Blake Memoria – Nea Parry – Mason Acceller_

_Squad Vela: Ariella Walker – Laura Greenland – Hana Huang_

"I don't want to hear any complaints," Coach V stated before anyone could even utter a word. "Get with your squad members, chat for a bit, and then head up to the commander's office to receive further instructions."

Alex's Heaven partner was the first to approach the group. Glenn was a friendly looking young man with dark blue eyes and dirty blonde hair styled into a faux hawk. Bryant could remember playing sports with him on a few occasions.

"Looks like we're teammates, Alex," he said with a smile. "Shall we meet with our Abyss partner?"

"Why not?" she replied. "Wait a sec...isn't our Abyss partner the guy who likes fire?"

"Yeah..." Glenn said as he averted his gaze. "He's the one..."

"Good luck..." Bryant and Ed said in unison.

Alex simply shrugged her shoulders and followed Glenn over to meet their third partner. Almost immediately, Bryant and Ed were approached by a brown-haired young man with forest green eyes and tanned skin. He glanced at Bryant dismissively before turning his attention to Ed.

"Dillon, right?" Ed asked.

"Right," the young man finished. "And your name is Ed, correct? I think our Abyss team member is the guy with the Umbreon. Let's go introduce ourselves."

Ed looked over at Bryant who have him a reassuring smile. He reluctantly followed Dillon over to the Abyss section and Bryant decided that he would seek out his partners instead of waiting for them to come to him. He motioned Sandslash to follow him and the two made their way over to where the Heaven trainers had been sitting.

"Remember that we need to be polite," Bryant told his companion. "I...I..."

It was utterly impossible for him to finish his sentence with Lydia Brown smiling directly at him. Bryant always thought she was pretty, but had never really paid much attention to her. She had a short, heart-shaped face and blonde hair that she styled into romantic curls. Her bangs were cut thick straight across her forehead making her already large blue eyes look even larger. Lydia was a good deal shorter than he was which only became more apparent the closer he got to her.

"Hi, Bryant!" she greeted politely. "I know it's going to be great being on a squad with you."

"Yeah, same here," Bryant managed to reply. He gazed down and saw that she had a Pokémon nestled in her arms. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a Dedenne. The small mouse stared at Bryant in confusion and then looked up at his trainer.

"Dedenne, this is one of our new partners," Lydia told him. "His name is Bryant."

"Hey there, little guy," Bryant greeted.

Dedenne paid Bryant no further attention. He hopped out of his trainer's arms and boldly approached Sandslash. The smaller Pokémon sized him up as Bryant watched the scene unfold. For his part, Sandslash appeared to be utterly confused.

"Please don't go making any trouble," Lydia said to Dedenne as she scooped him up. "Bryant and Sandslash are our teammates."

Bryant suddenly ran a hand through his dark brown hair, something he often did when he was trying to remember something. He quickly realized that they had yet to meet up with their Abyss partner. Unlike with Lydia, Bryant hardly knew anything about Darena Fordos. He had seen her a few times over the years, but they had no reason to ever associate until today. The other teams had already started leaving and Bryant tried to remember what the Abyss girl even looked like. The only thing he could remember was that she had bright red hair and something else that had to do with her eyes.

"Coach V!" Bryant called out. "What's the deal? Where's our partner?"

"Late," the coach replied. "Head on to the commander's office and I'll send her up there when she shows up."

"Understood," Bryant said.

He recalled Sandslash to his poké ball and Lydia did the same with Dedenne. The two of them made their way towards the door and Bryant only barely managed to avoid it being suddenly swung open on his face. She was almost as tall as he was. He saw the long, bright red hair, lightly tanned skin, and a blue-green right eye. The girl turned to look at Bryant and the moment he saw the eyepatch covering her left eye, he instantly recognized her.

"Nice jacket, Brian," she told him, obviously not caring about the fact that she had almost broken his nose when she had entered. "Looks good on you."

"Bryant," he corrected. "But thanks for the compliment, Darena. Um, cool...poncho? That's a poncho you're wearing, right?"

"You two can exchange fashion tips later," Coach V barked. "Get your butts to the commander's office."

"Whatever you say, Coach," Darena replied coolly.

Bryant frowned. He knew that had _he_ been late, he would have had to do at least thirty pushups. He was almost always held to a higher standard than everyone else because of his last name and as unfair as it was, there was little he could do about it short of carving out his own identity which he intended to do. The new squad left the room and entered one of the elevators at the end of the hall.

"Why were you late anyway?" Bryant asked curiously as he pressed the button and the metal doors shut behind them.

"I took a nap," Darena told him, never losing her lax grin as she removed her poncho. "And then I woke up and ate a lemon. So yeah, I was off doing some pretty important things. Not that it's any of your business, jock boy."

"Well..." Lydia added. "It's nice to meet you regardless. I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun working together."

Darena turned to the shorter girl and sniffed. "Um, sweetie, who are you?"

"You know," Bryant started as he resisted the urge to slap his forehead. "If you would have made it to HQ on time, we probably could have all been properly introduced."

She ignored him and waited for Lydia to answer her question. Bryant stared at the redhead, trying to think what to make of her. Darena had not exactly made a good first impression and he wondered if it was his own bias that was clouding his judgment or if it was just her personality in general that was setting him off. She seemed to intimidate Lydia a bit, but Bryant found her more irritating than scary. Still, he knew it would be best not to antagonize her anymore for the team's sake.

"I'm Lydia Brown," Lydia told Darena in a kind voice. "I'm the Heaven trainer on this squad."

"That much I could pretty much tell," Darena remarked.

Bryant actually had to agree with her on that. The three of them did look like the standard for their classifications with Lydia in her pretty, pale blue dress, Darena in her short, black tank top and gray shorts, and Bryant in his brown t-shirt and green army jacket. Furthermore, they even acted like standard Heaven, Earth, and Abyss trainers, but Bryant figured that was because it was the first time they were truly in the same vicinity for longer than a few minutes. He knew that there would be more sides to his two new teammates. After all, he, Alex, and Ed were all Earth trainers, but were still three completely different people.

"We're finally here," he said as the metal doors opened. The three of them stepped out of the elevator. "Time to go see the commander..."

* * *

**A/N: And it looks like we have our squads. Off to a bit of a rocky start for Squad Crux at least, but who knows what could happen. Next chapter, we're going to start exploring more P. so it'll likely be longer than this one and we'll also start seeing more of the other squads in the coming chapters. But anyway, as always, thanks for reading! **

**Until next time! **


End file.
